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Scammed By My Own Grandson
What kind of grandparent wouldn’t help their grandson if he called at 11:00 at night needing succor and lucre?
I’m pretty old but my oldest grandchild is 13 and a girl. That’s why it was strange and mildly amusing to pick up the phone last week to hear a young male voice urgently say, “ Grandpa, you know who this is!”
I said I was,”Sorry, I didn’t” — the person on the other end hung up.
I innocently thought it was a young guy who had dialed the wrong number.
Little did I know that I had unwittingly escaped from what’s referred to as the “grandparents scam”
According to the AARP, the scam works like this:
The victim gets a call from someone posing as his grandchild. The person explains, in an excited sounding voice that he or she is in trouble.There’s been an accident,or an arrest, or a robbery. Whatever the reason the young scammer needs money to “straighten things out.” Could the grandparent wire a Money Gram or a specific Western Union office to help with the cost of defraying the problem?
And, “Oh, please don’t tell mom or dad!” is usually added.
A reasonable grandparent would ask at this point, “Does this actually happen?”
